Written Answers Tuesday 23 August 2005

Scottish Executive

Cancer

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to raise awareness of bowel cancer.

Mr Andy Kerr: Cancer in Scotland: Action for change sets out the strategy for tackling cancer in all its forms. The Executive’s health improvement policy framework is set out in Improving Health in Scotland – The Challenge.  More information is available from the Scottish Executive website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Home .

  NHS Health Scotland is a national resource for improving Scotland’s health working at a national level to support organisations, policy-makers, communities and individuals to take action to improve health across Scotland. Their priorities focus on tobacco control and smoking cessation, healthy eating, diet and physical activity. Local NHS board health promotion departments are also active in the promotion of healthy lifestyles through the provision of information and advice on healthy eating, exercise, and alcohol reduction, all of which can impact on bowel cancer incidence.

  Specific bowel cancer awareness raising programmes such as the Big Lottery Fund, West of Scotland Cancer Awareness Project and the joint Lanarkshire/Forth Valley Bowel Cancer Awareness Project are aimed at helping people to understand the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer.

Cancer

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16326 by Mr Andy Kerr on 17 May 2005, what action is being taken to improve access to diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer patients with communication impairments, such as women with cerebral palsy.

Mr Andy Kerr: In consultation with their patient, doctors and other health care professionals are responsible for making appropriate decisions on investigations and treatment in individual cases. They are also responsible for ensuring that the individual needs of their patient are assessed and any necessary support arranged.

Cancer

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16326 by Mr Andy Kerr on 17 May 2005, whether the Scottish Cancer Group has had discussions with providers of speech and language therapy services regarding improving access to diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients with communication impairment.

Mr Andy Kerr: There have been no discussions between the Scottish Cancer Group (SCG) and the speech and language therapy services on these issues. The SCG is a strategic advisory body. It is the responsibility of NHS boards to provide services to meet the needs of their local population.

  I also refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18338 on 23 August 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Fisheries

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive why catch information is withheld from salmon fishery boards until after the fishing season is closed, given that effective management of migratory fish requires information on catch returns to be available to boards during the fishing season in order for them to take in-season conservation measures.

Rhona Brankin: Catch statistics are collected annually from proprietors or operators of salmon fisheries by Fisheries Research Services under the provisions of Section 64 (1)(b) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003. Data are collected by means of questionnaires issued at the end of most fishing seasons in Scotland. Following a quality audit to check accuracy and completeness, they are published in the statistical bulletin, in accordance with the provisions of section 64(1)(c) of the 2003 act.

Fisheries

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are available to fishery boards to avoid exploitation by the use of mixed stocks coastal nets in areas adjacent to rivers with Special Areas of Conservation status.

Rhona Brankin: A District Salmon Fishery Board may apply to Scottish ministers for Salmon Conservation Regulations, which may be made under the provisions of Section 38 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003 where ministers consider that it is necessary or expedient to do so for the conservation of salmon.

Genetically Modified Crops

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any tests have been carried out in or adjacent to Scottish fields used for farm-scale evaluations of genetically modified crops to establish whether any horizontal gene transfer has taken place and, if any such tests have been carried out, what the nature was of the tests.

Rhona Brankin: In a Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs funded research project, the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology investigated the level of gene flow between cultivated crops and wild relatives in or adjacent to fields used for the farm-scale evaluations (FSE) of genetically modified crops. Scottish sites were included in this study. The results of the study were recently published. No tests were carried out to establish whether any horizontal gene transfer has taken place from plants to other organisms such as bacteria or fungi.

Genetically Modified Crops

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any hybrid plants resistant to herbicides have been detected in or adjacent to fields used for farm-scale evaluations.

Rhona Brankin: No hybrid plants resistant to herbicides have been detected in or adjacent to fields used for farm-scale evaluations in Scotland.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many rectal bleeding clinics have been established since 2001.

Mr Andy Kerr: This is a matter for NHS boards. The information requested is not held centrally.

Marine Environment

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Natural Heritage’s assessment of mobile fishing gear impacts in the Firth of Lorne Special Area of Conservation will prevent those impacts and, if so, in what way.

Ross Finnie: No. Scottish Natural Heritage’s work will assess whether, and if so how, the use of mobile fishing gear impacts on the Special Area of Conservation interests in the Firth of Lorn and will inform consideration of whether long term measures may be required to protect the features of interest. The work is not, however, a preventative measure.

Marine Environment

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Natural Heritage’s assessment of mobile fishing gear impacts in the Firth of Lorne will address the issue of reefs smothered by silt which has been disturbed by dredgers.

Ross Finnie: Scottish Natural Heritage’s planned Assessment of Mobile Gear Fishing Impacts on the Special Areas of Conservation features in the Firth of Lorn will include an assessment of the potential impact on reef habitat by the deposition of sediment arising from dredging.

Marine Environment

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it applies the precautionary principle to decisions on the natural heritage in the case of scallop fishing in the Firth of Lorne Special Area of Conservation.

Ross Finnie: Consideration of the issues relating to the Firth of Lorn and Loch Creran Special Areas of Conservation by the Scottish Executive includes the application of Article 6 of the Habitats Directive, which requires steps to be taken to avoid the deterioration of habitats as well as significant disturbance of species for which sites have been designated. Once consideration of the issues is complete, decisions will be taken on any action which may be required.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on the Distinction Awards scheme in each year since 1999 and what the source of the funding was.

Mr Andy Kerr: Although information on boards’ expenditure on Distinction Awards is not held centrally, boards receive an allocation each year from the Executive to cover distinction awards based on information provided by the Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards. The total budget for this since 1999 is set out in the following table.

  

Year
Allocation(£000)


1999
14,775


2000
15,361


2001
16,721


2002
18,545


2003
19,090


2004
20,852



  The allocation each year covers all award holders including new awards made in that year as well as any uplift recommended by the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body and endorsed by the Scottish Executive Health Department.

  The Executive is committed to conducting a review of the current awards schemes for consultants. Ministers are presently considering the parameters for this review.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultants have received cash bonuses under the Distinction Awards scheme in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: There are three levels of Distinction Award: B, A and A+. The number of NHS Scotland consultants receiving an award in each year since 1999 are set out in the table.

  

Year
B
A
A+


1999
33
19
8


2000
47
19
5


2001
64
34
12


2002
41
22
5


2003
37
17
6


2004
45
22
9



  The number of awards for which Scottish consultants are eligible are based on annual recommendations made by the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body (DDRB). No decisions have yet been taken for 2005.

  The Executive is committed to conducting a review of the current awards schemes for consultants. Ministers are presently considering the parameters for this review.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on transport in 2002-03 and 2003-04, broken down by category of expenditure listed in table 8.01 of Draft Budget 2005-06.

Tavish Scott: The actual expenditure as previously categorised and reported in the Scottish Executive Annual Accounts for Transport Portfolio is reflected in the following table for the 2002-03 and 2003-04 financial years.

  

Category of Spending
2002-03(£000)
2003-04(£000)


Motorways and Trunk Roads
£207,394
£266,787


Other Transport Programme
£63,670
£220,141


CalMac
£18,903
£26,664


HIAL
£24,050
£23,860


Rail Services
£115,596
£187,598


British Waterways
£13,810
£12,582


Grants to Local Authorities
£0
£0



  The ISB number for the published Annual Accounts is 3/4/SE/2004/267.

Tourism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it agrees with the statement reported to me that Scottish Enterprise considers "that there are enough visitor attractions in Scotland".

Patricia Ferguson: There is a high-level of provision of visitor attractions in Scotland and any major new project could be associated with a high-level of displacement which could potentially undermine the viability of other attractions. However, Scottish Enterprise considers supporting every visitor attraction on a case-by-case basis. Assistance may be offered to fund new attractions that bring economic benefits to the Scottish tourism industry.

Tourism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is for attracting privately funded visitor attractions into and within Scotland.

Patricia Ferguson: Visitor attractions are an important part of the visitor experience in Scotland, as they are a part of a wide and rich diversity of offerings and products. VisitScotland supports any industry-led initiative that adds value to Scotland’s product offering and will look at support for any new attractions on merit. Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise would also be willing to consider what support may be appropriate for new privately funded attractions. However, this would need to be set in the context of the market situation, and the potential of the attraction to attract additional businesses to Scotland, as well as likely levels of displacement from existing attractions.

Tourism

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many people have visited Scotland from (a) Australia, (b) Belgium, (c) Canada, (d) Denmark, (e) Finland, (f) France, (g) Germany, (h) the Republic of Ireland, (i) Italy, (j) Japan, (k) the Netherlands, (l) New Zealand, (m) Norway, (n) Spain, (o) Sweden and (p) the United States of America in each of the last five years.

Patricia Ferguson: Information on the numbers of overseas visitors to Scotland is available at: http://www.scotexchange.net/know_your_market/tourism_today/overseas_markets.htm .

  No information is held specifically on the number of visitors from Finland and New Zealand.